We had to leave our Casa in Camaguey by taxi at 02:30 to catch our bus to Trinidad, 250 km away which will took us 4 1/2 hours.
So, our taxi driver slows down and starts going on..."El Kapoone", he says....."Huh", I think?
...."El Kapoone!...Do you know El Kapoone?" he asks again.
...No idea.....
He says...."Bang, Bang! Guns?"
...."Oh!!! Al Capone!" I reply.
...Si.....
He then shows us what is supposed to be Al Capone's car....in a driveway... on a dark, quiet street in Cameguey.
"That is Al Capone's car!" he says again.
"Ah, OK?", we smile...in the dark, as the cab speeds away to the bus station. Huh! We wonder??
Our new Casa owners in Trinidad met us at the bus station as previously arranged with a sign showing our names. They rode their scooter and we took a bici-taxi over bumpy cobblestone roads with our packs strapped to the back.. He sure earned his money! That was really tough pedaling!!
Our breakfast courtyard and eating area. Very peaceful! We've learned that front doors give a very
false impression of where people live. Most Casas here have amazing courtyards like this.
Trinidad is a UNESCO heritage town from the 1500's that is built on a hill 15 minutes
from the Caribbean seen off in the distance.
from the Caribbean seen off in the distance.
It has cobblestone streets and vendors everywhere. Beautiful layout with windy streets with a colonial flare.
A typical street scene
Colourful buildings...
...beautiful main square in 35+ C temperature...
lots of different modes of transportation...
beautiful store fronts...
plenty of churches to visit...
and lots of restaurants to choose from.
Most evenings we would walk around listening for music. Trinidad has a vibrant music scene
most nights. One wonderful outdoor venue where traditional bands play, is the steps leading to
the Casa de la Musica. A small dance floor is available to show your stuff from 8:30 - midnight.
The steps are often overflowing with people - drink in hand or ordering a meal.
Such great music under the stars.
Our next 2 days, we took a 15 min.taxi to the beach Play Ancon. We rented chairs and used a
palapa on this sandy beach. Unfortunately the water was quite murky and grassy so it was not
good for snorkeling. I got stung by a jellyfish both days... but a washing of fresh water took the sting away.
Playa Ancon
The next day we took a 2 car train to Manaca Iznaga, a sugar cane estate built in 1750.
Train station
The 16 km trip form Trinidad went around the backside of the mountain through
picturesque countryside.
And, of course, there has to be music!
Think "12 Years a Slave"....
This plantation was built on slave trafficing.
This plantation was built on slave trafficing.
This 44 metre tower was used to watch the slaves in the fields below... ( tablecloths
blowing in the wind are the local vendors selling their wares).
Views from the top of the tower - fields are pretty much empty now. Sugar cane is
almost non-existent in Cuba.
Think... "12 years a Slave"
Along the way back to Trinidad...train is tooting its horn, scaring cows and horses off the tracks...One cow was a bit slow. The whistle keeps blowing and then the train stops!!! Everyone looks out the windows to see why we have stopped on this already slow journey. We get off the train only to see that we have hit a really big cow ..it got dragged under the diesel engine and under the 1st car where it got lodged between our car.... hmmm???, What to do...
The crew separates the 2 cars and pulls out the now very dead cow from under our car...it is one big, dead cow...5 guys are pulling on its legs and tail...this thing is as wide as the train tracks...
Once pulled off to the side we reattach and toot off...
Meanwhile, Cubans on the train are texting and calling on their cell phones. Cubans suddenly come out of the countryside woodwork...running, riding horses, on tractors, everyone seems to be carrying plastic bags and machetes to the site of the kill.
Meanwhile, Cubans on the train are texting and calling on their cell phones. Cubans suddenly come out of the countryside woodwork...running, riding horses, on tractors, everyone seems to be carrying plastic bags and machetes to the site of the kill.
Free meat....Yum....poor owners now out one cow!
The Beatles are big time entertainment in Cuba! Most towns will have some kind of club with the
focus on Beatles music. So, one night in Trinidad we followed the music again and came to a modern
club with a live band playing Beatles music. Huh! Who would have thought?!
The Beatles are big time entertainment in Cuba! Most towns will have some kind of club with the
focus on Beatles music. So, one night in Trinidad we followed the music again and came to a modern
club with a live band playing Beatles music. Huh! Who would have thought?!
Found some cheap beer......1 beer =10 cents and 1 ice cream = .03cents.....2 beer plus 2 icecream total .26cents =1 CUC = 1 Can dollar.
Ok...some have asked what Shayne packed for this trip...
3 quick dry tshirts (could have gone with 2)
3 quick dry underwear (prob could have gone with 2)
one collar shirt and long pants with zip off legs
one shorts 2 swimsuits.
mask and snorkle
soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc (however, can buy it all here!)
one long sleeve quick dry shirt for cool bus rides
flip flops and Merrell barefoot shoes
kindle, sketch pad
shaving stuff beach mat and quick dry travel towel
That´s it!!
It's now Day 30 of our wonderful Cuba journey and we are on the road again by Viazul bus for 1 1/2 hrs. to the coastal city of Cienfuegos. The trip is gorgeous with mostly rolling hills and limestone coastline. Esperanza met us at the bus depot, as pre-arranged. Our room ($25) has its own balcony looking over their newly
renovated back yard. This yard has a small swimming pool, jacuzzi, outdoor shower, bar and eating area!!
View from our balcony
Looking back to our room in the top right.
Our breakfast and dinner table. Gorgeous!
Cienfuegos is a large colonial city with beautiful buildings and a lovely malecon (boardwalk).
Pedestrian walkway in the downtown area with the Caribbean in the background.
The seemingly endless malecon... always packed at night.
This was a very interesting beer devise that we have seen in a lot of coastal areas. There is a tube of ice in the centre of the container to keep the beer cool. I want one!
Left Cienfuegos for a few days to go to the wonderful quiet beach at Rancho Luna just 15 minutes by taxi.
It's now Day 30 of our wonderful Cuba journey and we are on the road again by Viazul bus for 1 1/2 hrs. to the coastal city of Cienfuegos. The trip is gorgeous with mostly rolling hills and limestone coastline. Esperanza met us at the bus depot, as pre-arranged. Our room ($25) has its own balcony looking over their newly
renovated back yard. This yard has a small swimming pool, jacuzzi, outdoor shower, bar and eating area!!
View from our balcony
Looking back to our room in the top right.
Our breakfast and dinner table. Gorgeous!
Cienfuegos is a large colonial city with beautiful buildings and a lovely malecon (boardwalk).
Pedestrian walkway in the downtown area with the Caribbean in the background.
The seemingly endless malecon... always packed at night.
This was a very interesting beer devise that we have seen in a lot of coastal areas. There is a tube of ice in the centre of the container to keep the beer cool. I want one!
Left Cienfuegos for a few days to go to the wonderful quiet beach at Rancho Luna just 15 minutes by taxi.
Our Casa 'Rita y Nelson', one block off the beach.
We had a really interesting fruit here called maranion. It has white fruit and is very juicy. Notice the seeds on
the bottom... they are cashews!!
Had several days of snorkeling at Rancho Luna. Beyond the reef we saw lots of fish, sea grass, brain staghorn, and tube coral as well as some fans.
A local spear fishman had a successful catch.
...went past the old Juragua Nuclear Power Plant built in mid 70´s...never finished...Chernobyl design....couldn´t get past the guards and fences...Oh well.
Castillo de Jagua built in 1745. It has three floors overlooking the bay.
A local spear fishman had a successful catch.
...went past the old Juragua Nuclear Power Plant built in mid 70´s...never finished...Chernobyl design....couldn´t get past the guards and fences...Oh well.
Castillo de Jagua built in 1745. It has three floors overlooking the bay.
A few days ago in Cienfuegos, we met a German sailer at the marina bar. Spent a couple of hours with him, thoroughly enjoying his stories about his 8 month journey on his 14 m sailboat. At the end of our hours, he asked if we wanted to see his boat... wow, what a beauty!!!
We discussed his charter business etc. and said goodbye wishing that we would have pursued that a bit more.
Over the next three days in Cienfuegos we kept running into our new sailing friend and his co-captain. Must be karma. We shared a few more cerveza and listiened to more stories. In the end, they invited us to join them on the next leg of their journey!!!! So, we´ve cancelled our next bus ride to the west and have decided to grab this opportunity and go sailing with these 2 men.
Why not?? No Regrets!!!
So, in the next few hours, we are meeting them at their boat, will sleep on board tonight and get all the safety spiel, then head out likely west to the Cayo Largo islands and to Isla Juventud... then we will decide what to do next. We have 2 weeks left... (and, yes the Germans speak fluent English).
Ah, just another adventure in the Konar journeys. No Regrets!!!
We will be in touch again when we can... maybe even from the boat... onward...
Yvonne & Shayne
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